The Girl Next Door, A Darry Curtis Love Story
by ROCKelecNtraROLL
Summary: Darry always had a thing for girls for green eyes. And the green-eyed girls have always been his downfall. Darry/OC
1. The Arrival

O, so even though I should be working on my Dally love story, I cannot get this idea out of my head!  
So, I wrote this pretty quickly, hope you like! Will be more, once I write more of the Dally love story and appease my sense of guilt.

* * *

There was a commotion in the neighborhood. In a neighborhood where most of the houses were vacant, or the families living in them had been there for over ten years, a new occupant was rare. So, when a young woman, a ruffled, moody, frowning, 17 year-old, and a gangly looking teen pulled up to the house next to the Curtis's, all of their future neighbors spied from their windows, extremely curious (or extremely annoyed that their afternoon drowning-our-sorrows-in-liqour ritual had been interrupted).  
Next door to the pale yellow-paneled, slightly run down house, five curious faces looked out the window and watched as a long-legged woman opened the door on the back of the U-haul attached to her sleek, black 1967 Chevrolet Impala.  
Darrel Curtis stepped out onto the porch from the kitchen, where he'd been making dinner, and watched as the woman unlocked the front door of the long vacant house, and began to carry boxes in. He couldn't see her clearly due to the fading light, but there was something about the straightness of her back, and the determined set of her jaw that interested him.  
When Jenna Kelly lost control of the twin mattress she was trying to heft up the porch steps, it went tumbling towards the  
dirt flower beds, only to be caught by an rough, strong hand.  
She glanced up to look at the man. He had strong, hard features, cool blue eyes, just like the winter sky, and dark, short hair that she wouldn't mind running her fingers through.  
Instead of doing such, or squeezing one of his muscled arms that looked so glorious it would make angels weep, she smiled up at him.  
"You just saved me two hours of tryin' to get dirt outta a matress."  
Darry took in her wide, green, doe-like eyes and dark lashes. She had brown hair with a soft gold tint, and it was in two braids that fell over her shoulders, giving a soft, sweet, innocent look to her. Pale pink lips smiled up at him, revealing dimples and a winning  
smile. Her voice had a soft southern accent.  
"You could've used a vacuum."  
He pointed out.  
She laughed, a warm and light sound. "Smart. Are ya in the neighborhood?"  
He pointed out his house and this girl smiled again. "I'm Jenna. I'm just movin' up from Arizona. My brothers are in the car, passed out.  
We left this mornin'."  
Darry grinned at her. It was a blinding smile, that relaxed his whole face and seemed to make the crease of worry in his brow  
disappear. "I got two younger brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy. Our parents died in a car crash about two years ago."  
Jenna smiled sadly at him. "Our parents were killed 'bout four months ago."  
"Good luck with the boys then."  
She laughed, and silently thanked him for not saying, 'I'm sorry.'  
"You need help moving in, I've got five boys in my house, they're available."  
"Thought ya only had two brothers."  
"Well," he smiled, "two of the other ones basically lives in my house, so they owe me, and the other is sweet enough to help."  
"I'm not gonna deny a bit o' help, but I think I only need you, muscleman."  
The little smile she sent his way hit somewhere strainght in his heart.

* * *

By the way, this story is set about a year and a half after the Curtis's parents died.

*SPOILERS*

Dally and Alexis are together so it's set after my Dally love story.


	2. A Conflict of Sorts

Jenna Racheal Kelly considered herself a fighter, someone stronger than the things that happened around her. She considered herself a thinker, a planner, a person with determination at her core. She considered herself a soldier.  
But as she glared up at her younger brother, her resolve began weaken. Nothing had gone right since the mission in Marako.  
As Jonah and her stood head-to-head, she didn't show any sign of backing down in this fight. But inside, as she had every time since she'd become the legal guardian of her two brothers and Jonah had acted out, Jenna felt her confidence slouch a little and wished for a whole lot of tequila and for some sense for her dumbass brother.  
Jenna mentally crushed down her anxiety and poked her brother hard in the chest.  
"You are gonna repeat your senior year, because if you can't make money, then you can't have a future! You need a diploma to do anythin' that brings you a constant income, and I need you to help me! Please!"  
Jonah clenched his jaw and glared at me. "I don't **need** to. I don't **want** to, so why should I?"  
"Because I told you to, damn it!"  
"Oh fuck that Jenna! You don't have any authority over me!"  
I put on my blank officer-in-charge face and used the voice that used to frighten the hell outta any soldier under my command on a mission. "I'm your legal guardian, and you will listen to what I say, or so help me god, I will chop off your balls and feed them to you."  
He stomped off to his room, dark eyes flashing, and his face, so much like our father's, screwed up in anger. I took a deep breathe and rolled my shoulders. Walking out onto the front porch through the small living room, I took a deep breath of the humid evening air and rested against the supporting beams.  
I caressed the chain of my necklace and closed my eyes.  
**You, little lady, are a fire cracker.**  
Frank's voice and face popped into my head, grinning and sweet. His blonde hair windswept and his brown eyes promising trouble. I remembered his voice, rough and raspy from years of smoking.  
A voice spooked me out of my brooding.  
"Beautiful evening, eh?"  
I spun around and my body tensed up, ready to fight. There stood Darry from next door, a tool belt around his waist.  
My muscles relaxed slightly.  
"Yes. Reminds me of Arizona a bit."  
"You okay? I heard yelling."  
I put on my brave face. "Well, Jonah can be pretty hard headed. He won't go back and redo his senior year. I hate yellin' but I don't know anyother way to get to him."  
He stepped onto the porch. "You always fight with the people you're supposed to take of. I still fight with Ponyboy, thoguh it's gottin' better, I still want to knock sense into him sometimes."  
I made a soft agreeing sound in my throat and changed the subject.  
"Ya been fixin' somethin'?" I asked, gesturing to his tool belt.  
"Roofing houses. That's how I make my living."  
I nodded.  
"Where's Noah?"  
I sighed. "He took off after dinner, as soon as the words started flyin'."  
Darry frowned and leaned around me looking down the street. I caught a whiff of the musky man smell and wood scent on his skin and ignored the way my mouth went a little dry at his closeness.  
"He should't be out so late at night. Socs might get him."  
"Socs?"  
"Forgot you didn't grow up here. Socs are the rich kids from uptown. They like to jump greasers-us people who look like we're gonna have to work when we grow up."  
I frowned. "Shit. Noah is defenseless against even a fly, and wouldn't hurt one even if he could. I shoud go lookin' for 'em."  
Noah rounded the corner just then, and headed up the street toward us. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched his tall, gangly frame, with his messy blonde hair and innocent blue eyes, walk up the sidewalk. I was suddenly struck by both his youngness, and, at the same time, his age. "Well, I guess he's fine. You should warn him though, tell him to be careful."  
Darry turned to walk off the porch to his house then turned back. "You guys wanna come over for dinner on Thursday? You guys can meet the gang, and Noah can make friends with Ponyboy and Johnny, he'll like them. They can help him out at school, show him the ropes, and who to avoid."  
I didn't know who Johnny was, but since Ponyboy was Darry's brother, he couldn't be awful.  
Plus, dinner. And no way I could say no to those soft, brown eyes Darry had.  
"I'll bring dessert and alcohol." Darry laughed and jogged away.  
Noah strode up the stairs slowly and glanced curiously at Darry's retreating form.  
I grabbed his arm as he opened the door. Smiling up at him, (god, when had he gotten as taller then me?), I gave him Darry's warning and told him about the dinner invitation.  
Noah nodded then turned to go in again. On impulse, I let one more thig slip. "I'm sorry." He nodded and turned away. "I know you are sis."  
Once he was inside, I stared at the night settling around me and took a deep breathe again.  
I rubbed the wrinkles in my forehead (and the memories) away.


	3. Dinner

"Darry, the pretty lady and her brothers are here!" Two-bit yelled from the living room. The whole gang was gathered in there, watching Mickey.  
I put the chocolate cake in the oven and walked into the living room.  
Alexis had answered the door and was introducing us all.  
"You know Darry, and these are his younger brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy."  
Jenna, dressed in a pale yellow shirt with soft waves of hair framing her face, laughed and said,"Amazin' names. Your parents musta been real original."  
Ponyboy and Sodapop nodded at her, but I could tell they were slightly taken aback by the comment.  
"This is Steve, Soda's best friend, and Johnny, Pony's best friend. The drunken fellow right here is Two-bit." Two-bit waved his beer at her and ended up sloshing it all over his shirt, and she smiled at them all.  
"This handsome lunk here is my boyfriend, Dally. Ignore everything he says, it isn't true. And I'm Alexis." Jenna smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you, these are my brothers, Jonah and Noah."  
Pony and Johnny waved Noah over, and he sat quietly next to them. Jonah leaned up coldly against the wall, face brooding.  
"So, Jenna, do you like Mickey?" Two-bit asked.  
"He's pretty good, but I've always preferred anything Alfred Hichcock meself."  
"Oh, like Psycho? That ones pretty good. I like the shower scene."  
Jenna laughed. "Of course ya do."

* * *

We sat haphazardly around the living room, everyone sitting whereever comfortable. Dally and Lexi were arguing about god knows what, Pony, Noah, and Johnny were discussing Gone with the Wind,Two-bit was passed out drunk, Jonah somehow managed to eat broodenly, and Jenna, Steve, Sodapop, and I were talking.  
Well, Steve and Soda were interrogating Jenna, and I was watching. And trying to hide my smiles at her answers.  
"So, ya drink?"  
"Only the hard stuff."  
"Ya like Elvis?"  
"Do you have to actually ask that question?"  
"Ya like going to the drive in movies?"  
"Yes, but I haven't been since high school."  
"Ya been in rumbles?"  
Her she paused for a moment, then replied quietly, "Yes, more then I care to remember."  
"Ya ever been jumped?"  
"There have been attempts." For a second I thought I saw a little twist to her lips and heard pride in her voice, but it was gone as soon as it came."  
"You smoke?"  
"No."  
"Ya drag race?" This question came from Steve.  
A full out grin broke out on her face. "I can kick anyone's ass in that."  
Their faces broke out in mischivious smiles. "We gotta race against some Socs at 10 tomorrow night. Be there to prove your stripes, girl."  
She returned their mischivious grin and winked at me.

* * *

That night, as I washed the dishes and got ready for bed, I had the strangest fluttering feeling in my gut and could hardly contain the smile that broke out on my lips. Inside my chest, a feeling of peace and content that hadn't been there since before my parents' deaths settled.


	4. Drag Racing

When Jonah, Noah, and I arrived at stretch of desert road the races were supposed to take place at, it was unbelievably crowded. There were guys with expensive clothes on, sitting on their tuff and shiny cars. There were well-dressed girls milling about, all white socks and clean dresses, kissing their boyfriends cheeks for good luck. Then there were guys with greasy slicked back hair, wild eyes and hard smiles, dressed in leather, smoking around their cars, which were far fewer in number then the cars the rich kids had. The girls that accompanied the greasers varied. There was those who dressed as nicely as they could afford, and there were those who were all short tight skirts, leather, and smoke.  
Once we spotted nearly all of the gang we pulled up next to them.  
I stepped out of the car, revealing my faded blue jeans and white t-shirt. My hair was in two pigtail braids, the way that Frank used to say reminded him of a Catholic school girl.  
"Hey boys." I noticed the way Darry glanced at Pony and Johnny worriedly, and then did a quick head count.  
"Where are Soda, Steve, Dally and Alexis?"  
"Soda and Steve are getting ready for the races." Darry offered.  
"Dally and Alexis are busy fucking each other into year 3000." Two-bit grinned jovially. I rolled my eyes and scanned the crowd and surrounding area.  
The track was lit by the car lights alone, giving everyone a ghostly quality. There was a hum of anticipation in the air, and calls for bets were hollered everywhere.  
Soda and Steve galloped up to us with wild grins on their faces. "You're into the tournament race, the prize is 200 purdy little Soc dollars. To win, you gotta beat Randy Adderson. He's got the tuffest car around."  
I smiled a little and patted my hood. "Not anymore."  
As a basic race started, all the young boys ran to the front lines to watch. "Gentlemen, ladies, greasers, we got Patrick Forger and Lane Wesle." A soc's voice boomed over a microphone.  
Before I could jog off and watch the races, Darry grabbed my arm. Alarm coarsed through my body at his touch, along with a spark of electricity.  
"Careful Jenna, these Socs don't take well to being beat on their own territory."  
I grinned to show my confidence and softly touched his arm, carefully noticing how warm his skin was and how strong the muscles beneath seemed. "Don'tcha worry Darry. I can handle a couple o' purdy momma's boys who don't know when ta quit runnin' their mouths."

* * *

I revved my engine and felt the sweet pure of it straight to my core. I'd won all the races before this, and had conveniently avoided getting out of my car to show the other racers they'd lost to a girl.  
It was the semi-final race, between me and a blond haired with a blue car with tuff silver pinstripes. This race determined who raced Randy Adderson, who was watching from the top of a large nearby rock, wearing a ridiculous pair of black pants with thin bright yellow stripes.  
As the starting horn blew, I sped across the starting line, already ahead of blondie. There was the familiar adrenaline and exhilaration of the race, and the pride of leaving another racer in my dust.  
"Okay people, this is what you've all been waiting for! The newcomer J. Kelly will now be racing against our good old boy, Randy Adderson!"  
We lined up at the starting point. He throttled his engine in a low growl, and I made mine purr in response. A soc girl with large hair stepped forward, handkerchief held aloft. My body tensed, then _**bam**_, we were off.  
This guy was a good racer, but his car had too much flash. I had beaten men a million times better then him, while speeding a fast getaway in places like Bangkok.  
I crossed the finish line at least four seconds ahead of him, and I did a 90 degree turn and blocked his car, forcing him to come to a stop, one of my favorite moves.  
The crowd roared, and I drove my car back to where Noah and Jonah were standing. I stepped outta the car. Shouts of surprise were heard as I strode back towards Adderson's car and he stepped out of it. Randy spit at my feet. "You're a girl. Being beat by you doesn't count."  
"Well, is it in the rule book?" I taunted. The boy with the microphone stepped forward, along with several other pretty boys. My body, still exhilarated from the race, thrummed excitedly with the promise of a fight.

"Look, you pretty boys, I'll be expecting my money within the next thirty seconds, or there will be hell to pay." I said calmly. Someone stepped up next to me and pressed a hand softly to the small of my back.

"Jenna, step down. That guy with the rings is Bob Sheldon. He's the one who gave Johnny the scar. The guy in the red leather jacket tried to jump Pony last April. Stand down." Darry whispered, breath hot on my ear.

"I've got in Darry."

Bob Sheldon strode forward, smirking. "Look, you're a pretty girl, but you aren't getting this money. So, why don't you and Superman," Bob sneered at Darry, "Take off before things get... messy."

Darry stepped between Bob and I. "Don't talk to her like that." He grabbed Bob's arm, and a ringed fist flew towards Darry's jaw.

Instincts sprang forward, and I swept Bob's foot out from under him. He slid out of Darry's grip harmlessly, and I easily twisted his arms back and planted my foot in the square of his back, planting him with his torso against the pavement.

Two other Socs lept forward and jumped at Darry and I. Darry punched him squarely in the face, and I kicked the boy in front of me straight in the family jewels and then knocked him out with an elbow to the back of his neck.

The crowds around us erupted in chaos. Darry looked like he was about to enter the fighting, but I grabbed his arm and hissed, "We're out numbered. We should get outta here while we can." Darry and I glanced toward each other, then sprinted for our siblings. My fists connected with many body parts and at one point I used a car hood to boost me up, then sprang up and twisted my thighs around a Soc with a gold knife's neck, knocking him out as he advanced toward a younger greaser.

When we got to the cars, Jonah and Noah were ushering Two-bit into my car and the others into Darry's.

"You remember procedure." I said as I swung into the car. It was already running.

"Well, after the hundredth time, it gets hard to forget." Jonah half-smiled.

I saluted Darry as he hopped into his truck and we raced through the fighting, making people leap from each other's throats to safety. All over, greasers and Socs were piling into cars and taking off, while the grittier ones took off.

* * *

This was a weird chapter, The main reason I wrote it was because I wanted Jenna to do the thigh twisty thing. And because I love watching drag racing,


	5. Hello, I Love You

Over the next two months, Jonah, Noah, and I settled into life in Tulsa. I got a job at the police station, thanks to a flutter of eyelashes, a quick mention of a 'cousin' in Washington, and a well-placed bend-over in a low shirt for the chief of police. Working as a secretary, I put in about 40 hours a week. I knew the society here was corrupt, as were the officers. I silently kept track of every messed up file and corrupt move the officers made.

The boys started school, and suddenly we were hanging out with all the Curtis gang. Alexis and I had a couple of friendly conversations about the idiocy of boys and I felt mostly comfortable with all of the gang. My favorite, though, was Darry. He would help me fix things, offered advice, and somehow managed to provide a soft, dry wit. Still, there was a strange sadness and determination, different then the other boys, and I suppose it was something akin the sadness developing in me.

Things seemed bearable. The ache of the loss of my parents and Frank, along with the constant itch of suspicion, but it was nice to have a consistent schedule, to know where you would be having your next meal, and where your bed was.

Of course, almost everything fell apart once I thought I might be able to cope.

I sat in my work chair and carefully separated the arrest reports. My phone rang, shrill in the quiet reception area.

"This is the Tulsa Police Station, Jenna Kelly speakin'. How may I help you?"

"Jenna Kelly, this is Principal Dulce." Well shit. "I have a your brother, Jonah, in my office. He started a fight."

I took a deep sigh. "I will be there in five minutes."

I slumped in the driver's seat of my car, pressing my head against the steering wheel. Jonah was still in school. He had detention after school for the next two months, and would be forced to work in the cafeteria and officially apologize to the Soc he fought.

Anger and tiredness and desperation made me want to scream my head off. A knock sounded on my window, and I turned to find Darry there.

"Hi. You okay?" Darry smiled his blinding smile and I tried to smile back.

"Jonah got in a fight at school. I'm fine, just tired."

He looked at me for a second, then smiled again. "We're going for drinks."

"Darry, I can't, I gotta work, and-"

He pulled me out of the car and ushered me into the passenger seat of his truck. I considered fighting, but really didn't have the heart. Darry then buckled me in and got into the driver's seat.

"Really, Darry, I can't-"

He shushed me and started the car.

* * *

"Ya' know, I just really really really miss 'em. I mean, we weren't very close anymore. Ya know? But they were my parents! And I loved them!" I gestured wildly.

Darry nodded. "Exactly! I wish I could just talk to them one more time! And say..."

"Yeah, exactly..." I downed another shot. "So, why do you keep scotch in your truck?"

We were lying on the hood of his truck, intermediately taking shots. The stars sparkled above us. I hadn't taken the time to look at them since before I started high school. The scotch bottle was already only a fourth of the way full.

"I just, if it were in the house, I'd feel tempted to drink it more often, instead of solving my problems. Plus, Two-bit steals all the liquor in my house, along with all the cake and most of the couch."

I laughed, half because it was true and Darry's delivery was so wry, and half because I was mostly blitzed on half a bottle of scotch.

"Ya're a good guy, Dar'. Ya let these kids inta your house, and ya help 'em out and ya look out for 'em. Not alotta people would do that." I smiled lopsidedly at him.

Darry smiled softly. "I do it 'cause otherwise they'd have no place to go,"

"But ya still do it, don't ya?"

Darry looked at me with some sort of strange admiration in his eyes. I turned on my back and stared up at the stars as his gaze got too intense for me.

We sat in silence for minutes, listening to crickets in the dry grassy fields around us, each with our own thoughts. As I heard a tune come on the radio, I giggled and jumped up on the hood.

"Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name!" I sung, butchering the artist's voice with my horrendous singing.

Darry looked at me and starting cracking up.

"C'mon Dar'! Sing with me! Dance with me!" I teased as I blurted out the next lyrics.

"No, no, no , no, NO." Darry said, still laughing.

I pouted with my lower lip and fluttered my eyelashes. "Fine." Darry rolled his eyes and let me pull him up.

We laughed and screamed the lyrics, each of us performing an equally strange dance. Darry twirled me around and I smashed into his side, for the first time noticing how dark the lashes that framed his icy, crystal eyes were.

When the song ended, we collapsed back on the hood. Darry's hand was firm and warm on my hip, his thumb gently revolving in slow, comforting circles.

"What do you miss most from when your parents were livin'?" The question slipped from my lips.

"Umm..." Darry glanced down shyly for a second, then glanced back up, a sheepish grin on his face, "Sex. I can't have women over because Pony and Soda and the rest of the gang are always there, and I really got no way of meeting women. So uhh..."

"Well, no sex for the next couple years. Yay." I said sarcastically.

"So you've ah..." He paused awkwardly.

I burst out laughing. "You're blushin'! Ha! And o' course I have Mr. Curtis! This ain't the Renaissance! One woulda' think you'd never done the dirty!"

Darry rolled his eyes. "Geez, of course I have, crazy chick!"

"Please," I teased, "You're totally innocent."

Darry's eyes sparked with a scary electricity. "You think I'm innocent?" His hand squeezed my hip hard and he leaned closer to me. I felt a thrill through my body as his nose brushed mine.

"I'm not innocent." He teased in a whisper, breathe hot on my mouth.

I felt a strange tension in the moment, and could see the consequences of the decision I was about to make. But the thrill of testing, seeing what happened, was there, and I whispered, against his lips, "Prove it."

Darry's mouth descended on mine, a bit rough, and he licked his way into my mouth and curled his tongue around mine. I found myself clutching at his shirt as fireworks went off in my head, wondering how the hell he'd learned to kiss like that.

His hands traveled up and under my shirt, caressing my belly and the sensitive skin under my breasts. I began helping him pull his shirt off. Somehow, he got my bra unsnapped and had my shirt rucked up over my breasts. I whined because _goddammit_ how did he do that with his mouth?! There was no way my nipples had been that sensitive before.

Darry chuckled as I finally got his shirt over his head and I scraped my fingers down his chest, just as he pulled my shirt fully off, then unzipped my skirt.

As he ran his fingers up my thighs to pull off my underwear, I stopped his hands. "Nuh uh. Now it's my turn." Pining his hands by his sides with my knees, I kissed up and down his jaw line, then down the contours of his neck. I slid my fingers down his chest and followed with my mouth. I felt him shiver as I dragged my teeth against his nipples.

I unbuttoned his dirty work jeans and pulled them off, along with his boxers. Darry groaned as I took his cock in my hand, and gently stroked until he was hard and erect in my hand.

Darry leaned back against the wind shield, pupils wide and his chest rising and falling fast with his rough breathing. His eyes darted frantically over my body as I pulled down my panties, revealing my trimmed pussy. When I let his hands slid out from under my knees, they immediately grabbed my hips and held them firm as he slammed up into me.

I half-screamed at the sudden pain of being entered so fast, and the pleasure of him filling me up and hitting roughly against my inner walls. Darry's eyes were squeezed tight as he pulled slowly out of me. I found myself clinging to his neck. Trying not to groan and shiver and scream, I buried my face in his neck as he began slowly, thoroughly fucking me.

I felt the pleasure wind tighter and tighter inside my body, building up slowly. Darry was swearing roughly and had grabbed my hair and pulled my head back, kissing and biting up my neck, shoulders, collar bone and chest. I sunk my fingernails into his back and let myself scream as he hit my g-spot again and again, while he rubbed and pinched my clit lightly.

Suddenly, almost unexpectedly, my orgasm tightened my body. I screamed and bit my lip as pleasure spread through my whole body, Darry bit my collar bone hard and gripped my hips even tighter, slamming into me one last time as he spilled his seed inside me.

We lay breathing hard together, the sweat cooling on our skin. I nestled my head in the crook of Darry's neck while his hands gently rested on my ass. I no longer felt the affects of the alcohol and began to realize what we'd just done. _Shit. _

I cringed when I realized how late it must be. _Fuck, what about Jonah and Noah?_

"Fuck. Shit." Darry voiced my internal thoughts. I slid off him and was surprised when the movement revealed how sore my thoroughly screwed muscles were.

I carefully slid off the hood and tried to locate my clothes. Darry watched from the hood of the truck, and I tried not to stare at his manly nakedness, because I'd just fucked the guy, so why should I still want him to stay naked? I should be kind of embarrassed by it at least. That's how it had been in the past.

I gathered all the clothes and smiled politely at him, trying to conceal the strange,unfamiliar feeling in my stomach.

"I think we should get going."

* * *

I really don't know what the last paragraph is. I tried to make it as sensible as I could, but...


	6. An Arrangement

**Darry's POV**

I stared at the house and prepared myself to go in. I reorganized my hair, then popped my shirt collar up to hide the hickey on my collar bone. Jenna had already stepped out of the car, with a soft goodbye and an awkward silence before that.

When I entered the house, all the boys inside stopped to stare at me. I squared my shoulders and walked through the freakishly silent room to my bedroom. I closed the door tightly behind me and took a deep breathe.

So far, today, I'd skip out on half a day of work, gotten mostly drunk, fucked my gorgeous, funny, and secretive friend of a neighbor, and set a horrible example for my younger brothers. _After two years, finally you do something crazy, _The person I used to be whispered.

Yet, somehow, it was hard to regret. It felt nice to finally have had a release. Plus, _jesusfuckingchrist_, Jenna had been hot and sweet and amazingly tight, and I could still feel her fingernails sinking into my back, her soft skin, and still hear her breathy screams and moans.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I heard the boys talking in the next room. "Where do you think he was...Do you think he's alright...bet he finally went out and got laid..."

I felt tension begin to creep back into my body, and I sighed as I prepared to go and venture out to get food.

* * *

**Jenna's POV**

I multi tasked at work, slowly going over case files and highlighting major points for each, while, in my mind, I silently stressed over the events of last night and the way Jonah had looked when I'd walked in at 10 last night. And the fact that I was still occupied with Darry's smell, and couldn't seem to shake the image of him naked or the feeling of his mouth on me from my mind.

A tapping on my desk interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see Peter McCaphlin, a younger officer on the force. He was the straightest shooter in the office, and for every file of his I'd looked out and all the behavior of his I'd observed, the only bad thing he'd ever done was ogle the chief of police's daughter. Of course, since he did not quite fit in, I knew he would never rise high in the ranks.

Peter smiled at me. "Hey, you took off early yesterday. What happened?"

I looked up at him and smiled. "Jonah, my lil' brother, got in a fight at school yesterday."

"Well, if he's anything like you, I bet the other guy didn't wind up too well."

I laughed quietly and shook my head. "I don't get in fights I laughed."  
Peter nodded. "You sure?"

I winked and he started to walk away. "Pretty shirt by the way."

I smiled to myself at the compliment. Peter was a good guy, and I didn't mind him.

* * *

I carefully organized the newly placed books on the shelf. There were only a scant couple boxes left, containing some photo albums and old clothes. Noah was at the movies with Pony and Johnny, while Jonah was walking around the neighborhood. It was now dark out. I knew I should have not let him go, but I was tired of arguing with him.

I heard a pounding of feet on the front porch, and Darry burst through the screen door. His hair was a bit of a mess and he had a wild, panicked look in his eyes.

"Please, please tell me you're on that fancy birth control pill." He said breathlessly. I nodded and he sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank god, I just thought of it...and I just...umm, yeah, I'm just gonna..." He made motion to the door and turned away.

"Wait, Darry. We should talk about what... we should talk about this." I cringed at my inelegant wording.

Darry and I sat awkwardly at my kitchen table in adjoining chairs.

"Umm...so I just think that things shouldn't be akward between us, we are adults and we've had sex before, but we have responsibilities and it just..." I suddenly thought of my necklace, lying on my bureau, with Frank's and I's dogtags sparkling on them.

"We really shouldn't do it again." Darry finished,

"Yeah. It was great, fabulous actually, but-"

"Fabulous?" Darry asked.

I remembered his hands on my body, his mouth. I blushed.

"And here you were saying I was innocent. You're the one blushing." Darry leaned forward and teased. I caught a whiff of the manly, pleasant smell that was completely Darry's.

"Well, I just...ah..." He leaned further into my personal bubble and I felt awareness prickle against my skin. Darry smiled teasingly and hungrily.

I felt my cheeks flaming at his grin, and impulsively leaned forward and kissed him to wipe it off his face. His mouth was as sweet and talented as I remembered, and he pulled me into my lap, still smiling.

* * *

**Darry's POV**

I lay with my face in Jenna's neck, sheets tangled around our bodies, the hot, sweet smell of sex in the air. Her legs were

still hooked around my body, and one of her hands was burrowed in my hair, relaxed now, where it had been pulling hard only a few minutes before.

"Well, I guess we're doin' this again." She laughed quietly in my ear.

I rolled off her. "You started it."

Jenna kicked me half-heartedly. I propped up my head to look at her. She pulled the comforter up to hide her breasts, soft and responsive, with their pale pink peaks.

"This is the most relaxed my body has been since before I started high school." I remarked.

She crawled up next to me, laying back on the pillows. "Well, I read somewhere that sex relaxes the mind and body, and sends out some sorta chemical that makes us happy. It's the same stuff in chocolate and that's released when we exercise."

"If we had sex more often, then we'd be happier." I thought out loud.

"Did ya' just proposition me? I think ya, did Mista Curtis. Like you're some sorta Rhett Butler!" Jenna teased.

"I didn't-" I started, but then she rolled over onto me and straddled my hips, letting the sheet fall. Of course, this distracted me.

"We could..." she seemed to make a decision as she looked at me, "Have an... arrangement. Be friends with..." Jenna lightly trailed her fingers down my chest, "...benefits." I felt my cock harden again.

"Okay." I said. Jenna smiled teasingly and leaned down and kissed me hard on the mouth.

* * *

This story will not be quite as long as I was anticipating, just so you know.


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

Darry's POV

I padded softly into the house, placing my tool belt on the coffee table. I began making dinner, and smiled when I found myself whistling. Today I had worked from sunrise until about six, roofing a pretty nice house, with some snow damage, and I had gotten complimented by my boss. Pony was at the library, studying for finals, with Noah, Johnny, and Jonah, who was forced to tag along, and Soda was working at the DX with Steve, so I had dropped by Jenna's. She was always so sweet, and so damn funny, and god, she was always so goddamn wild when I let her take control.

Jenna and I had been sleeping together for about three months. It was December now. Gradually, she and her brothers had become a regular fixture in the neighborhood. Jonah was generally sulking about somewhere, and Noah usually hung out with Pony and Johnnyboy. Jenna was the older sister to everyone. She was welcoming and sweet, but was rough and extremely terrifying when you didn't listen. Hell, somehow, she'd gotten Twobit's average beer intake down to two.

We'd spent Thanksgiving, and Dally's and Pony's birthdays together, and she made the best lasagna I had ever eaten. Whenever Jenna was over, I couldn't help but watch her. She was mystifying, with her sparkling green eyes, teasing remarks, and sad grins. And then she would look at me, share a glance, or a little look.

I considered her one of the first friends I'd had in a long time.

* * *

Jenna's POV

Everyone in the neighborhood was out in the road shoveling snow. I carefully pulled on my mittens and glanced worriedly at the opened envelope lying at the bottom of the trash in my bedroom. I had been receiving regular updates from Hal, an old friend, about the investigation into my parent's murders. It could be any number of people though. I had many enemies.

When I joined the boys in the street, Alexis waved from where she was skating over a slick peace of ice with Dally, and Twobit grinned jovially and formed a snowball with his hands. He then winked at me and threw it towards Darry. Darry didn't turn and didn't appear to have noticed, and Twobit frowned. I smiled to myself as Darry grinned at me from the corner of his mouth and slowly formed a snowball.

Twobit, upon getting a cold hit to the face, completely dropped his shovel and set to making snowballs. Soon, all of were ganging up and building snowballs. As I watched the boys around me, along with Alexis, hurling snow and friendly insults at each other, I found myself joining in with the shrieks and laughter.

And for the first time, ever since I had lost my parents, I thought, _This is happiness. I think this might even be family._

* * *

Thanks to all my followers! This chapter is mainly to progress from the last to the next, but I like it because it's kinda fun and fluffy and helps set up future things for chapters down the road.


	8. Memories

Jenna's POV

The ground was mushy and brown. I watched from my porch, sipping at hot chocolate with Alexis while the boys played football. Dally scored a touchdown and stole a kiss from Alexis. I smiled at her happiness when she rolled her eyes yet blushed.

I watched as Jonah passed to Noah. Jonah actually interacted positivly with people now, and he was even getting B's and A's. I wasn't sure what had made him start working hard, but I wasn't gonna question it.

As the frosty January air nipped my skin, I was reminded of another place, with cold air and dry grass.

Frank threw the football at me and hit me in the head as I tried to do my field report. I glared at him and he smiled lopsidedly at me. He stole my field report from my lap, and pulled me up by my left hand. fiddling with my engagment ring.

"Before we leave for the mission in Marako, we should have a little fun." He smirked and kissed my cheek. I pushed him away angrily.

"I need to finish my reports, Kerp, before I can even consider any fun."

Frank rolled his eyes and kissed me again. I tasted the cigeratte on his mouth, and sighed and gave in.

Suddenly, I remembered the look in his eyes right before we'd left for Marako. The soft smirk on his lips as I gazed worriedly out the planes window. The look in his eyes when he'd heard about YETURI and our mission. Pride. Determination. Greed.

There's no way he... Frank couldn't be...

All the pieces clicked into place. The way he always kept his background a secret. How he occasionally disappeared. The way he seemed to know more about me and the REFI before he could have. The fact that we had never found his body. How way my parents had been murdered.

Frank was the killer.

Frank was part of YETURI.

Frank was most definately not really named Frank.

Frank was still alive

I lept up in anger and ran into the house. I pulled my old suit from under my bed and strapped my knife back onto my thigh.

Darry rushed into my room. "Jenna, are you okay?"

I felt despair and betrayal coarse through my veins. "The bastard. He killed them!" I spat out.

Jonah and Noah ran in, faces flushed. "Jenna, where are you-" Jonah asked, concerned.

"I'm going to kill Frank. Give me one week."

* * *

Darry's POV

I sat anxiously at the kitchen table, had finsihed paying the bills and was staring anxiously at the wood. Pony and Soda were in bed, and Jonah and Noah were passed out on the pullout bed in the couch. They had been tightlipped and subdued for the last week. All I'd learned was that Jenna used to be part of the special ops in the military. And she used to be engaged to Frank Kerp, a man in her unit who had been killed only months before her parents.

I had figured from her angry statements right before she left that he was actually alive. And he was the one who had killed her parents.

I jumped from my thoughts when the telephone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, picking up the reciever.

"Hi Darry." Jenna's voice bathed over me, and I felt an enormous amount of anxiety that I hadn't been aware of lift off my shoulders.

"I don't have much time." She said quietly. "Are Jonah and Noah okay?"

"They are fine, but seem worried."

Jenna sighed. "I'll be home in five days. Thank ya for takin' care of them."

"The least I can do for a friend."

She paused. "Thank ya' Darry. And, uhh, I don't think we'll be sleepin' together anymore... I just-"

I cut her off. "I get it."

"Thank ya Darry. I can't tell ya how much this means to me. I'll explain everythin' to you when we get back. Uh-oh. Gotta go."

The line went silent.

* * *

The confuzzling stuff will all be explained in the next chapter! Thanks to everyone whose read!


	9. Of Ruby Hilted Daggers and Love

**Jenna's POV**

I watched from the rafters of a warehouse in the downtown district of Berlin as Frank, or rather Lukas Richter, closed the warehouse door behind his 'collegues' backs. I lept silently onto the boxes and made my way down.

As I landed in a crouched position behind him, Frank-rather, Lukas- turned and smirked.

"Finely figured it out my darling. It took you long enough."

"Drop the charade Lukas." My body wasand ready, and he stepped casually forward.

"But don't you love this version of me?"

I let my hand fall onto my knife and smiled cruelly at him. I saw a sliver of fear creep into his body.

"Honestly? I don't think I really ever did. After all, the attraction was never really there."

I slipped the knife out of her sheath and lept forward.

* * *

**Darry's POV**

The smell of cigar smoke floated into the house. I looked out the window at Jenna. She was sitting in a chair on her porch, puffing on a smoking cigar calmly, with a flashing silver knife clutched in her fingers.

Jenna had gotten home an hour ago. After embracing Jonah and Noah, she'd quietly told me she'd explain everything in a little bit, then taken to the porch. There was a healing gash running from her collar bone down, disappearing into her shirt.

After another hour, I finally left my curiosity take over. I strode out into the now frosty night, pulling a jacket on, and grabbing an extra.

I draped the extra coat over her. She snapped out of her revere and looked up at me, looking so lost and sad it hurt me. I sat on the rail of the porch next her and took her fourth cigar from her fingers.

I noticed dark dried flecks of some substance at the base of the knife.

"Never seen you smoke before." I commented.

"Calms me down after a mission." She responded quietly. "I owe ya alot Darry. I'm sorry."

"I owe ya an explanation. I used to be parta REFI, a special covert operation that specialized in takin' out threats, collectin' dangerous information, and takin' down terrorist groups. I joined when I was 18, as soon as I graduated. One of the members, Hal, looked into a suspected serial killer in the area, and he took an interest and recommended me. When I joined, I met Frank. He was- supposedly- from New Hampshire, raised by his single father, a drunk, who got into archery and was noticed by REFI. We were partnered together, and I fell in love with him. He was just so..."

Jenna scratched off a bit of the substance of the knife.

"He proposed, but on a mission in Marako, he disappeared. We found evidence he had been killed."

Jenna looked longingly at the pack of cigars. I pulled her up and helped her put the coat on properly, then pulled her into my side because she looked like a kicked little kitten.

"It turns out he was alive and working for a terrorist organization. And he was German and his real name was Lukas Richter. And he's the one who murdered my parents."

"Two months after Frank had supposedly died, I came home from leave and found Mom and Dad murdered. Mom was in her bedroom, on the bed, her favorite..." Her voice broke and I pulled her into a hug. "...favorite song, Day by Day, playing on the radio. She had been strangled with the pearls Dad had given her for their 15th anniversary."

Jenna's head was buried in my chest I held her closer, feeling her fall apart.

"Dad was in the barn, nailed to... with his prized shotgun used to... and Radno, his prized stallion, his legs all broken..."

Jenna's fingers burrowed in my shirt. I rubbed her back. "It's over now. It's done." I whispered to her.

"No. The look on Jonah and Noah's face when they realized... it was my fault. If I'd never gotten involved, their parents would still be alive. I'd ran from the family, and...I hardly knew them anymore! And god, the look on their faces!"

Suddenly Jenna was completely falling apart in my arms. It was terrible, to see someone so strong, so determined, give in to sadness and despair. I let her cry into my shirt, and kissed her head as the sobs quieted.

"You need some sleep." I lead her through her house and tucked her into bed. She sniffled softly, and as I started to step out of the room, I swear I heard her whisper, "If the timing was different, I could fall in love with you..."

* * *

I stepped softly into the house and sat in my arm chair, staring out the dark house into the dark night. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Pony appeared by my side.

"I thought you were in bed!" I whisper yelled.

"I was waiting for you to come home." Pony replied quietly, looking at strangely.

"Why?"

"Well... I just was wondering..." Pony hesitated, "Are you in love with Jenna?"

I blinked at the question, and was glad for the darkness that concealed my bewildered expression.

"Well, no. She's... the best friend I've had since Mom and Dad died..." I started.

Pony rocked on his heels. "Best friend?"

I reflected momentarily on this. I remembered the Soc boys I'd played football in high school, and how they'd split as soon as I declined my scholarship and started taking care of my brothers. "Best friend ever."

"But, isn't love having someone whose you're best friend, except with... sex?"

"You're too young to know what sex is Pony." I balked at the idea of Pony, my baby brother, even considering kissing a girl.

"I'm 15. And you didn't answer my question."

I took a deep breathe and thought of what I'd heard Jenna say before she fell asleep. "Honestly, if I had time to be in love with her, I probably would."

"Love doesn't stop for time, does it?"

I sighed. God, I was so tired. "I honestly don't know Pony. But I'm not in love with Jenna."

Pony said nothing else but a quiet goodnight. I went to bed with the image of Jenna curled up in her bed, small and alone, imprinted on the back of my eyelids.


	10. A Red Dress and Warm Smiles

Jenna's POV

I found a rose made of chocolate on my desk on my first day back at work. I smiled at it and tucked it in my purse, wondering who it was from.

I had made the excuse of my uncle suddenly developing pneumonia and dying for being gone two weeks. The chief greeted me with a scrowl and a glare at my high turtleneck shirt. At lunch, Peter slid into the seat in the break room next to me.

"Been gone a while. Missed you."

I smiled quietly to myself.

* * *

It had been two weeks since I'd arrived home. Jonah, Noah, and I did not speak of what I'd done. There was something different though. A tension gone from the air. Darry and I were friendly, like we had been while we were sleeping together, and he never ceased to impress me with his slightly masked concern for everyone he close to him. He had proven as much the night I'd come home. He was someone I trusted. Someone I cared about. And that never seemed to end well for me.

I woke early, jogged around the block, air nipping roughly at my skin, waving to Darry as he drank coffee on his front porch, steam rising from the cup and his breath visible in the cold air. I jogged up to his porch, smiling brightly, cheeks flushed from my cold run. "You know, you're absolutely crazy to be jogging. It's fuckin' twenty degrees out." His eyes were still heavy with sleep, his mouth curling into a lazy, warm smile that warmed me even more than my jog had.

"Well, I'm out excersin', generatin' my own body heat. You're sittin' here shiverin' your ass off." I teased, smiling.

"I'll get warm enough later, we just got a contract for a big Soc house, starting roofing today." He smiled lopsidedly again, and I couldn't helping smiling back. "I'll see you later than, I needa shower and getta work."

He waved as I walked back, and I couldn't feel the cold any longer

* * *

At lunch, I sneaked a small look at my book, Gone With Wind, recommended to me by Noah, who'd raved about it. I was only about one-ninth of the way through, just getting to the part where Scarlett has moved to Atlanta with her son after her first husband died. A loud rap on my desk interrupted my reading and I pushed my closed my book hurriedly and turned, smiling brightly. I slumped with relief when I saw it was only Peter. We occasionally had lunch together, and he sometimes stopped by my desk to say hello. He was a handsome guy, brown eyes, strong jaw, pale blond hair that was a bit long. I wouldn't mind having dinner with him, he was nice, and he was sweet and brave, though not incredibly smart.

He leaned on my desk, smiling shyly. "Hey, Jenna, I was wondering... you...you know...if you...are you available... if you can...Doyouwanttohavedinner with me?"

I smiled assuredly, charmed at his awkwardness. "I'd love to Peter. When?"

He broke out in a brilliant grin. "Okay. I was thinking tomorrow, I'll pick you up at six, take you to dinner?"

I nodded, smiling. "That'd be great." I gave him my address and he couldn't seem to stop smiling. I liked the sight of him happy.

* * *

Darry's POV

When I arrived home from work it was already dark outside. I saw Pony and Soda, sitting in front of the television. Steve was passed out at the foot of the couch. I went in, ruffling Pony's hair, then started dinner. Suddenly, through the screen door, shouts and the scuffling of feet came. "Darry, Darry! We needa first aid kit!" Jenna voice, worried and commanding, reached my ears. I grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink and ran into the living room. Jenna and Noah were supporting Johnny's weight, a gash on his face, bleeding profusely, blood soaking through his shirt, and one of his hands bent strangely.

Pony and Soda moved quickly off the couch, and Noah laid Johnny on the couch, and we watched as Jenna worked anxiously over Johnny, her hands skilled and dexterous. Pony ran to get towels to lay on the couch without being asked. Jenna carefully stanched the bleeding on Johnny's torso, and he passed out halfway through her process of setting his wrist. He flinched and groaned in his pain, and it hurt to hear. She began stitching up the cut on his cheek, and asked calmly for Noah to run and grab the morphine, needle, and pain-killer from her medicine cabinet. He returned just thirty seconds later, and she slowly injected Johnny with the morphine. She stood up finally and we all released a breathe we had been holding. She went to wash her hands, and for the first time, I noticed what she was wearing.

Jenna's elegant neck and collar-bone were emphasised by the scoop neck collar of her dress, her figure luscious in her red dress. Fluttering around her knees, and coupled with a pair of strappy red heels, her legs were long and lean and gorgeous. Her hair was in soft waves, pins pushing it just out of her face. Her mouth was scarlet red and she managed to look perfectly put together, despite just spending 15 minutes stitching up a bleeding boy. She was a vision.

"Guys, I think ya' can handle this. Give Johnny two painkillers when he wakes up, and in one hour, give 'im another shot of morphine if I'm not back ina hour. I gotta get goin', there's a guy from work comin' by, and he'll find Johnny and take him to a home or somethin'." Jenna pushed her hair out of her face and gave us a small smile, looking worried. I watched through the curtains of the kitchen window as she ran across the lawn, meeting a man walking up her driveway who held a banquet of roses.

I felt a sharp pang in my abdomen as she kissed him on the cheek and smiled brightly at him.


	11. Nice

Jenna looked soft and elegant, like she belonged in this environment. The soft lighting of the restaurant cast gentle shadows on the hallows of her face. Her mouth looked plush and kissable. Coupled with the smooth jazz music in the background, she seemed sultry and seductive and sensual. He couldn't believe she was here, that she had accepted to go out with an ordinary guy like him. He hesitantly took her hand, and she blushed prettily and curled her fingers around his.

"So... uhh... tell me about your family." Peter asked as they ate their appetizers.

"Well, I got two little brothers, Jonah and Noah. Jonah is 18, and Noah is 14. Mom and Dad passed away last year." She sadly smiled.

"I'm sorry."

Peter didn't notice the small flinch his words caused.

"So, tell me about your family." Jenna asked with a small widening of her eyes.

* * *

Jenna POV

I walked up the steps to the porch, Peter a few steps behind. "So, this is me." I said awkwardly.

He stood there for a moment, then commented in a slightly nervous voice. "I...I guess I'll see you tomorrow...Good...Goodnight." He said with a clearing of his throat.

He turned to leave, and I began to open the door when he turned around and pressed a dry kiss to my lips. I paused and softly kissed back. It was not earth-breaking, ground-shattering, but it was nice. He didn't smell and didn't slobber, and he was a very nice guy.

Peter finally pulled back, his cheeks a little flushed. "I'll...I'll call you." He said with a smile.

* * *

Darry POV

Jenna entered the living room the next day, looking bright and cheering and happy in a pale yellow tank and jeans. She smiled at Johnny and examined his wounds. "If you want, Johnny, I can contact a friend of mine in the government. He could get you away from your parents, but keep you under the car of Darry or I." I heard her say softly to him.

"Jenna, I couldn't ask you to do that. I can handle it."

"It's no trouble, I could easily-"

"No. It's fine." Johnny cut her off in only the way he could, with a soft tone that offered no argument.

She came into the kitchen, and I offered her a ham sandwich, which she accepted with a soft smile and a thanks. "So how was your date?" I asked casually.

Jenna shrugged. "He's nice, good-looking, not too bright, but nice."

I wiggled my eyebrows. "Nice, as in _oh my ooo he is nice_," I used a high-pitched voice for this, "or as in 'ehh, he's nice, I guess.' " Jenna laughed and bumped her shoulder gently with mine.

"You're ridiculous!" She smiled brightly at me, and said, "I think I'll go out with him again. He's a good guy, he deserves a chance. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't phenomenal."

The easiness I had with her was marred slightly by this idea.

* * *

Jenna POV

Peter asked me to the Department Picnic the next day. I accepted with a smile and that night read to halfway through _Gone With the Wind_.


	12. Engine FailureS

Jenna POV

I knocked on Peter's door on a Saturday night, prepared for our date. We had been dating about two months now. He opened it, wearing a light blue button down shirt that looked quite good on him. I smiled brightly and he beamed back. Kissing him on the cheek, I entered the apartment. Peter led me to the kitchen, where he had set up a romantic atmosphere, candles the only light, table set with two plates and bowls of salad and spajettie. We sat down to dinner, and he told me about his experience at police training camp. I tried not to laugh internally as he complained about how grueling the physical element had been. I was trained by being air dropped in the remote corners of the world with next to nothing and expected to survive. We were expected to run six miles before breakfast. After breakfast, we learned how to kill a man using every concievable way. I didn't say anything, but it was amusing to watch him complain about it.

As he brought out dessert, he asked about my favorite movies. I told him about the first time I'd watched the 39 Steps and how much I'd loved it. "I also have a bit o' a soft spot for the Sound of Music," I confessed. "I am a helpless romantic." I added dryly, smiling. He didn't catch my sarcastic tone at 'helpless romantic' and nodded agreeably with a smile. He listened quietly, but I could tell he wasn't interested at all. I asked him about his favorite movies, and he instantly brightened. He started talking about some French film he had seen two years ago with his mother and went into a detailed summary of the cineomotography of it. I listened with fained interest and smiled and inserted a little 'oohhh' and 'uhh-huh' when necessary. Peter didn't notice, and I eventually said I needed to go to pick up my brothers. He walked me to the door, then smiled sheepishly.

"I've bored you, haven't I? I'm sorry. I had a really amazing time. You're always so nice, and kind. And you're really, really, really beautiful." He looked at his hands.

I smiled, warmed by the compliment. Peter glanced up from beneath his eyebrows, and I leaned forward and kissed him. He kissed back, and took me in his arms. Leading me back into his apartment, his mouth became more incessant, and I let him lead to the couch.

His hands drifted toward my shirt buttons, and a reluctance I hadn't felt since the first mission I'd gone on, when I had to seduce a black market arms dealer stole into my heart. I gently pulled away and smiled shyly up at him. "I'm sorry. I gotta go. I needa get home." Peter nodded and pressed another kiss to my lips.

On the drive home, I tried not to think of how dirty, how disgusted I felt.

* * *

Darry POV

I growled as I looked at the engine of my truck. I had barely made it home from work. It was smoking and a grinding sound came from it as it spluttered and died. I grabbed my toolbox from the garage and set down to fixing the engine.

An hour later, grease covered my unclothed torso, face, and arms, and more smoke suddenly erupted and I let out a string of curses. I hear Jenna's laugh from behind me, and my mood instantly brightened. I turned and she smiled at me, brilliant green eyes bright. She leaned beside me, and despite the nearly overwhelming smell of motor oil, I could catch the faint pleasant scent of Jenna, soft and clean, and vaguely of vanilla and flowers. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she rolled up her sleeves and looked at the engine.

I explained the situation. She grinned, and made a saucy comment about once putting together an engine in an hour from scraps of metal at the bottom of a Russian prison. When she told these stories, they sounded so outrageous, but I couldn't help but believe they were mostly true.

Within five minutes, Jenna had fixed it. I grinned and began to tease her about being a man's woman, but a throat clearing behind us interrupted me. I turned to see Peter, and, like a punch to the solar plexus, I remembered Jenna was not mine.

Peter was dressed nice but casually, and Jenna smiled softly at him, causing a pang of jealousy. "Ready?" Peter asked. "I needa change my shirt and wash my hands." She turned to me in explanation. "We're going to the movies." I made a sound of understanding, and she ran off to her house, leaving Peter and I standing awkwardly.

"Sooo...uhh... Jenna was trying to help you fix your engine." Peter shuffled his feet.

"Uh, yeah."

Peter cracked an awkward smile. "Women. Think that just because they read a book about it they can do it."

I found myself clenching my jaw and fists at his words. I smiled forcefully and made myself agree.

We stood about awkwardly for another few minutes, and he cleared his throat again. "Do... ahh...do you want to come with us? We're seeing some movie her brothers wanted to see."

"Sure." I heard myself saying. A bad feeling settled in the pit of my subject.

* * *

Jenna POV

I settled into the bleachers at the movies, Peter on one side, Darry on the other. Jonah sat quietly behind us, and Noah was telling Darry about his science project at school, involving the reaction sulfur has with latex. The movie flashed onto the screen, grand music occupying the opening credits. Noah leaned forward instantly, absorbing the film. Darry sat with his hands laced and elbows on his knees. I could tell he was leaning forward in feigned interest. He jaw was tensed, and ear turned slightly toward Peter and I. Darry smelled lightly of his engine and his normal muskier foresty scent, and I ignored the constant slight shivers that arose merely at his nearness.

Peter had his arm around me, and I tried to get closer to him and muffle the desire to curl into Darry's much more welcoming side.

About halfway through a scene between two guys discussing enlisting in the army, a man sat behind me when Jonah went to bathroom. Taking a sip from my soda, I felt my skin prickle with unease as the guy behind me leaned forward. His breathe, the stench of alcohol heavy on it, was sticky against my neck. "Hey baby. You wanna ditch your boys and come home with me? I guarentee a better time than these two dickheads."

I ignored him. Darry's shoulders stiffened when he heard the guy's words. Peter didn't notice, body remaining relaxed, completely absorbed in the movie.

The guy leaned forward again. "Babe, don't be like that."

Darry turned around, anger written clearly in his face. "Leave her alone."

I pulled Darry back to face the front, trying to tell him with my eyes to leave it alone. I heard then man take a swig of something from a flask, then lean forward again. "Yeah, pretty girl, tell your little pet to back down. You keep him around, string him along like all woman, while you go have your fun with someone else. All you women are like that." He sneered. Suddenly, I wanted to hit him for insulting Darry. Darry's fists were clenched in his lap.

A moment later, the guy was leaning forward again. "I'm sorry about saying that baby. I doesn't matter that you're totally screwing over muscle man over here for this other douche, I could make it all better. You've got the prettiest little tits I've ev-"

Darry fist connected with the guys mouth, a cracking sound coming from the guys jaw. I leapt up and grabbed Darry's arm as he swung his arm back for another punch. The guy clutched at his face, moaning in pain. Peter finally looked back, and immediatly turned an accusing glance on Darry.

"What the hell? You don't go around punching random guys in front of a cop."

"Peter!" I protested.

"Random guy?!" Darry said with gritted teeth, standing up and clenching his fists again, glaring at Peter and the random guy, who took one look at him and took off running.

"That random guy was hitting on Jenna!"

"I'll defend her, not you! Who the hell are you to her? What right to you have to her? I'm her boyfriend! Not you, greaser!"

Darry leapt at him in an impressive display of grace, and his left hook caught Peter in the ear.

I jumped forward, pulling at Darry's shoulders as Peter tried to land a punch on him. They managed to roll off the bleachers, landing with a painful sounding _umph_, and a small crowd turned from the movie to watch them. Noah looked on, scared and worried, and Jonah was hesitating, debating whether to step in or let me take care of it. I tried to get in between them, and Peter's fist almost caught me in the ribs.

I finally got a hold of both of them, pressing hard in the pressure points in their necks, and they collapsed, Darry rolling off Peter. Angry and insulted, I started yelling. "What the hell?! Neither of you need to defend my honor! I can do that myself! I'm not defenseless! I'm better equipped to defend myself then both of you! And Peter, what the fuck?! I thought you were above that! If Darry's a greaser, then I'm a greaser! So you can go to hell!"

Peter sneered at me, holding his arm. "Fuck you Jenna! That's what all of you are! Greasers! Screwups from the fucked upside of town!"

He spit at the ground on my feet and slowly limped away.

I turned to Darry. He looked up from his feet with a mournful, sorry look. "Jenna, I-"

"Please. Just don't."

* * *

Please leave recommendations for ways I can improve or clarify this story!


	13. Riding on the Horses of Bastardy-ness

Darry POV

I leaned and the porch, early morning mist slowly dissapating as I watched Jenna's house. She hadn't spoken to me since last night. I could see her silouette moving about in the kitchen, probably preparing breakfast for her brothers and already dressed and ready for work. As the sun rose almost all the way above the horizon, a inconspicous black car pulled in front of the house. My interest piqued as three men dressed in military uniform stepped out of it, each with a pistol on their hip. The eldest, a man with ribbons and stars decorating his uniform then the other two's combined, walked with an arrogant swagger to Jenna's front door. She opened the door as he rose his fist to knock. Outrage and anger were written clearly on her face.

Half interested, half worried, I waited on the porch. For about five minutes, there was nothing. Pony stumbled into the kitchen midway through, yawning. Then shouting came from Jenna's house. I hurried toward her house, filled with concern, as I heard her shout, "You bastard! You manipulative, meglomaniacel militarist! You can threaten me, but you can not threat my brothers or these people!"

As I stepped into her yard, two bodies tumbled out the window onto the porch with a spray of glass. Jenna took the man by the shirt collar and slammed his head against the porch rail with a sickening _thunk_. As the man crumbled to the floor, Jenna pulled the gun from his belt, cocked it, and fired, hitting the frame of the door just seconds before the older man walked through the door.

I stood at the bottom of her porch, body tense, as Pony and Soda came out groggily onto my porch. Jonah and Noah came onto Jenna's porch. "Not again." Jonah muttered grumpily.

The man stood with his hands up in surrender, but a smirk on his face. "Just one year Jenna. Just what you have left to serve. Promise."

Jenna had a cold look in her eyes, sharp and cruel. It hurt me to see her like that. "One year." She said. A cool voice that offered no argument, and promised _very_ bad things if she was not agreed with.

She lowered the gun with a nod. The soldier still concious carried the one out cold to the car. The older man followed, head held high in a self-stisfied way that made my skin itch.

Jenna removed the bullets from the gun in a smooth, practised motion, and laid it on the railing. Carefully, body seeming to radiate defeat, she sat on steps, curling in on herself.

She stared at her fingers, a deadness in her eyes. "Fuck."

I stepped onto the porch, gently squeezing her shoulder. "Jenna?"

Jenna looked at me sadly. "I'm back in REFI."

* * *

Jenna POV

One month later, I finished packing. My plane for the West coast left tomorrow morning, after which I would take a flight to Hawaii, then from Hawaii to Vietnam. Jonah and Noah were staying in this house, and Darry had promised to continue to check on them. I would be able to return for three weeks in six months, baring emergency, or the more terrible event, my death.

Jonah called from the living room. "Jenna! Come on, we're going to Dally's and Alexis's!"

I pulled on a jacket, the next to last thing left in the closet, over my blue denim dress and joined Jonah and Noah on the walk to their house. They were throwing a small going away party.

Their yard looked beautiful. Little twinkiling lights stretched from their roof to the fence, a small table was laden with snacks, and music softly playing. The whole gang was gathered, already laughing and eating. A very drunk Twobit was dancing with a miserable looking Pony, while the others laughed from the side. Seeing us approach, Alexis ran forward in the bouncy, happy walk she had, and embraced me. "Hi! I've got cake inside! Help yourselves!" She handed me a martini, then moved aside so Twobit could hug me and pull me into a dance.

I danced with everyone. Johnny was hesitant and sweet, Pony a bit awkward, Dally, Steve, and Twobit all tried to cope a feel, and Soda with a smile. As a familiar tune came on, I caught Darry's eye. He had a sheepish, wicked smile on his lips. Before the lyrics began, Darry approached and gently cupped his hands around my waist. We grinned at each other sheepishly, and he swung me into a high paced dance.

Hello, I love you  
Won't you tell me your name?  
Hello, I love you  
Let me jump in your game  
Hello, I love you  
Won't you tell me your name?  
Hello, I love you  
Let me jump in your game

Darry spun me into his arms, and I laughed a little, pressed against him. He whispered in my ear, breath warm, as little goosebumps tiptoed up my neck. "I'll miss you. You sure you gotta go?"

A lump rose in my throat. "I got no choice."

Darry's lips tickled the shell of my ear. "Meet me at the park tonight, midnight."

He spun me out, hands just a bit callous on mine, and smiled bravely, his eyes worried. The other whooped and hollered at us.

* * *

After Jonah and Noah finally fell asleep, I snuck out of the house to the park. Darry stood under the jungle gym, arms stretched upward, muscles taunt.

"Wow. I feel like a teenager again. Sneakin' out to meet boys."

He turned and smiled at me, and I pulled myself up on the jungle gym next to him. "What'd ya wanna talk about?

Darry shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "Debate the merits of different kinds of belts? I don't know."

I nudged his knee with mine. "While that sounds like a _very _fascinating topic, why don't ya tell me why ya really wanted to meet me?"

Darry took a deep breathe and looked at me earnestly. "Why are you going back?"

I looked out towards the homes, vage outlines in the dark. From somewhere in the neighborhood, there was yelling, and dogs barking in response.

"I... Gedent, the older man who came, is now in charge of REFI. He's a bastard, just cares about makin' things good for himself, and he plans on going inta politics in the next couple years. He isn't above double-crossin' his own and threatenin' people." I say, persing my lips.

Darry's eyes, warm and icy, such a contrast, looked at me sadly. "He threatened you with us."

She laughs, hollow. "Yes. Said he'd make sure everyone of you over eighteen were immediately drafted. Leave Pony withouta guardian. Along with that, he threatened tip off several agencies who are looking for me about my whereabouts. That ah... that would end unpleasantly."

Darry tucks his head into my shoulder. "Still," I continue hushedly,"It's only a year. He will probably force me into messier stuff"-stuff more likely to get me killed-"but it's one year. Then I'm even has papers drawn up and everythin' for it. Besides, he won't back out on it." I laughed softly, and it sounded false to my ears. "He's scared of me."

Darry, wonderful, loyal Darry laughs softly and brushes his lips gently against mine. It twists in my gut, hollow and full, and it's beautiful how it hurts. We sit for another hour or so like that, foreheads together, not saying anything, and the crickets chirp around us.


	14. For Our Girls on the Front Lines

She's broken and frayed already. It's only been two weeks, and it already hurts. The killing. The constant, unbelievable amount of killing. It aches in Jenna's heart, and she's having trouble sleeping again. Faces and screams have started to appear in her dreams again, bloodied and mutilated and ghostly.

Everyday, she sits down and writes. To Jonah, to Noah, to Two-bit, to Alexis and Johnny and Dally, to Soda and Pony and even Steve. Everyday, and attempts to write a letter to Darry.

'_I miss you_.'

She scratches that out.

_'I'm going insane, I wish I was home with you_.'

She erases that one so hard she rips a whole in the paper. She doesn't like to think about exactly what that means, but deep down, as she lies in her cot late at night, she knows with out a doubt what exactly it means.

_'God, Darry, I know I'm going to die here_.'

Jenna stares at that one a long time and realizes how different it is this time around. It's no longer recon ad maybe a kill, its 'get in, kill, kill, get out'. And she doesn't she the point anymore. She's tired. Giving up. That's the worse thing that can happen to soldier.

The steady and constant _tck tck _of machine gun fire never seems to stop. It brings a pounding to her head, just at the base of her skull. The planes that fly overhead set her skin on fire. It's lonely here, because she may fight with them, but she doesn't know them. Doesn't think she wants to know them, because most of them probably won't come back on day.

Hal, looking older than he should, bags under his eyes more pronounced. He's even more quiet then he was when she first met him, as he hunted for a killer, and carried his elephant-sized metaphorical baggage everywhere. They serve side by side, friends.

Jenna thinks of Hal's brother, who she met only once. He was nice and sweet and kind, and he blew his brains out one month later after a mission in Poland that went FUBAR.

* * *

She finally writes to Darry. She doesn't say any of it. She doesn't tell him about the ache in her chest when she thinks of back home. She doesn't tell him how she lies terrified in her bed at night. She doesn't tell him the things she wants to tell him, and doesn't tell him all the things she knows she can trust him with.

Jenna doesn't tell him how, on Jonah's birthday, she slit the throat of a boy who couldn't have been more than 16. She doesn't tell him how she fell to her knees that night and cried, tears and blood and dirt, covered in filth.

'_Dear Darry_,' she wrote in precise, careful letters.

'The mosquitos here come in here come in swarms, like a flock of birds. I've gotten bitten more in the past month then all other times combined. I haven't shaved my legs for that long (that's a very attractive idea, I know).

Mostly I've been catching up on training.'

That would be a true statement if strategically hunting down and killing people was training.

'_The food is horrible. So is the quality of the roofing out here. Would you like to come over for tea and check it out? They'd probably pay you at least a little for the roofing. _

I finished

Gone with the Wind. _After that, I cried. For a while. _

You must read it.

The sky here is almost as pretty as the sky back home.

The picture I included is of Hal and I. I think I mentioned him to you in passing. He's the one who recruited me for REFI. Good guy. He's not doing the best, but I've never seen any sort of best out here.

How is everything at home? I can't thank you enough for looking after Jonah and Noah all this time. I miss all of you. I can't wait to come home. Five months and 26 days to go until my leave.

Yours,

Jenna'

She lingers for a long time on the closing. The rest of the letter was friendly, but the ending hurt a little, raw and terrifyingly, to write. God, she hates it there.

* * *

Darry sees the crisply folded envelope with neat, articulate handwriting, and smiles. He reads it over that night, and its dated for twenty days previous. He hears her voice in his head, and he knows that she's writing the tiniest things, the least important.

He writes her back the next day, after having a tense argument with Pony about him coming home late. Darry is positive there's a girl involved, and it freaks him the fuck out to realize that his little brother needs to start shaving and he hasn't even had 'The Talk'. He includes all the little details when he writes to Jenna, and tells her how Johnny is crashing on her couch, and he doesn't go home anymore, and that he is smiling more often the Darry has ever seen him do. He writes to her about Dally and Alexis's latest fight, after which they had almost done it on the hood of his truck.

Darry doesn't ask how she is. He wants to know that more than anything else. But she wouldn't tell him. Not the truth anyway. He knows that deep in his gut. He knows he wouldn't be able to do what she's doing, whatever it is. God, he wishes she were there.

* * *

The weather is finally nice again, and the sun is glowing on the eastern horizon, but Jenna knows that in Tulsa it's blisteringly hot, even at five pm.

For the first time, Jenna gets to call them. It's four months and 28 days in. She doesn't get to call them because she fucking deserves it and she's been doing the best work of her career(despite her occasional mental breakdowns), but because of the huge mission Hal and her are leaving for on the next day. The intel is sketchy, and it's likely a suicide mission. 96.437% likely' according to all calculations. She doesn't feel afraid, not yet anyway, just empty and aching, and she wonders if that's worse.

Jenna calls Darry's house, since she had had her telephone disabled before she left.

"Hello, Curtis residence, Darrel speaking." Darry answers, voice warm and low and it bathes over her like sunshine.

"Howdy muscleman." She grins.

"Jenna!" There's something raw in his voice, in the way it catches in his throat, and she gets that feeling in her gut again. Its like drinking brandy. Warm and burning and fiery in her stomach and down her throat.

In the background, there's a clattering sound of a glass falling on the floor, and a drunk Two-bit yells incoherently towards the phone. She can almost hear Darry's smile when he says, "The boys are all here. I figure you want to talk to Jonah and Noah first."

"Sure, long as I get to talk to ya again Darry." It's strange, saying that, and she doesn't know why she does, just knows that hearing his voice has made everything better.

His voice is softer and raw when he responds, "Of course."

Jonah's voice then comes over the line, as familiar as her own body. "Nice of you to finally call," he says sarcastically, but she knows he was worried because they are siblings and they known each other longer than any other living person has.

"Oh, whatever little brother. Talk quick, don't use up all my time, I wanna talk to others besides you." She teases.

Jonah laughs on the other end.

Noah talks to her next, chattering about the volunteer program at the library that Alexis had helped him into. Johnny comes over the phone next, talking quietly and briefly, but sounding happier then when she last saw him. Twobit comes on, and he slurs something about Elvis Presley being into beastility before being kicked off by Pony.

Pony and her go through the usual greetings and she says, "So, Darry says he thinks ya gotta girl."

Pony laughs awkwardly. "No..uhh...she's not my girl, she's uummm...we study together."

"Is that what ya kids are callin' it nowadays?"

Jenna can almost hear Pony blushing. "Shut up, or I'll tell Darry you have a shrine built to him over there."

She laughs again, and remembers how good all those boys over there are. "Actually, it's more of a monument. There's a statue of him made of marble and everythin'."

Pony gives a brief snort, and then replies, in a softer voice, "He misses you. Actually, we all do. And I wanna..", he clears his throat, "wanna thank you for what you're doing. Darry let it slip about Gredent threatening all us earlier."

"Thanks Pony." she whispers, and a lump comes to her throat.

"Darry's here, he wants to talk to you." Pony says after a moment of silence.

"Bye Pony."

Darry's voice comes over the receiver, and she almost doesn't like how dependent she feels on the very sound of him breathing.

"You good on your end?" He asks.

"Yeah." She says hoarsely. "The food's still not very good though, and I'm dying for some of your chocolate cake."

His laugh is warm and familiar, and her chest feels so tight that it might burst at any moment.

"Well, then I promise to make you some as soon as you get home."

The ache in her chest expands. God, she wants to go home. God, she hopes she gets to go home.

"Jenna...you are going to get home. All in one piece. I know it. If you don't, I'll-", his voice catches, and Jenna can feel tears welling in her eyes.

"Darry, there's a mission tomorrow, they're only letting me call 'cause of it." Jenna lets the implication hang in the air.

"Jenna...I wish things were different."

A knock sounds on the door of the telephone booth. "30 seconds, Corporal Kelly."

Jenna turns back to the phone.

"M-my time is up. I promise to do my best, but god, I'm fuckin' scared. Tell Jonah and Noah I love 'em and that I'm sorry. So incredibly sorry all that I've taken from 'em." She takes a deep breath, thinking of the sound of gunfire and the way she can't sleep at night, can't feel any ease at all unless she thinks of home; of Darry. "And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it: Darrel Curtis, I-"

The line cuts off.

* * *

SHUT UP DOCTOR WHO IS AWESOME AND ITS TOTALLY NOT A CLICHE UGGGGHHHHH IT TOTALLY IS I HATE MYSELF AND IM GOING TO BED NOW.


End file.
